Wolfowitz: Blind to the Impact of Global Poverty

One of the primary objectives of the World Bank is to combat global poverty. Outgoing World Bank president James Wolfensohn understood the link between global poverty and global security. Paul Wolfowitz, however, remains blind to the impact poverty has on dangers like terrorism and civil unrest.

“If we want stability on our planet, we must fight to end poverty. Since the time of the Bretton Woods Conference, through the Pearson Commission, the Brandt Commission, and the Brundtland Commission, through to statements of our leaders at the 2000 Millennium Assembly – and today – all confirm that the eradication of poverty is central to stability and peace.” — Outgoing World Bank president James D. Wolfensohn, 10/3/04

VERSUS

“These people are not fighting because they’re poor. They’re poor because they fight all the time. ” — President Bush’s nominee for World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, Congressional Testimony, 6/6/96

“We hear a lot of talk about the root causes of terrorism. Some people seem to suggest that poverty is the root cause of terrorism. It’s a little hard to look at a billionaire named Osama bin Laden and think that poverty drove him to it.” — Wolfowitz, 11/15/2002